West University Place City Council members and staff continued discussions regarding the city’s 2025-29 Capital Improvement Plan at the July 22 council meeting, including talks about debt-funded projects and their potential impact on tax rates.

The takeaway

While the plan and funding strategy are still in planning stages, city officials indicated they will continue discussions in the coming months as they work on completing the 2024-25 fiscal year budget in September. Finance Director Marie Kalka went over funding sources, timelines and estimated costs for upcoming public improvement projects in the next five years.

By the numbers

The six project categories and their estimated project costs for 2025-29 include:

  • $117.9 million for drainage, such as the West Side Paving & Drainage Improvements
  • $33.7 million for facilities and technology, such as the Facilities Master Plan phases 2, 3 and 4 related to the city’s library, community building, senior center, fire station, police department and City Hall
  • $622,000 for parks, such as upgrades to the city’s recreation center playground and jogging track, and the west end of Colonial Park
  • $17 million for streets, such as roadway and sidewalk improvements and replacements, and westside roadway reconstruction
  • $57.4 million for water, such as replacing the Bellaire elevated storage tank, cast iron water lines and the new Milton water plant
  • $1.8 million for the wastewater treatment plant

The cost



When it comes to capital projects that are supported by property taxes, the big-ticketed item is the city’s drainage project for an estimated $117 million in costs, according to Kalka’s presentation. Costs for Phase 3 and 4 of the Facility Master Plan are also listed as projects supported by property taxes, with the fire station, City Hall and police station costing an estimated $20 million.

Funding for the drainage improvement project will be allocated in years 2025-29, according to Kalka's presentation. While no action has been taken by council for funding Phases 3 and 4 of the Facility Master Plan, the CIP plan lists an estimated 2025-27 funding timeline.

Besides grants, other external funding options mentioned during the meeting included donations, reserve funds, intergovernmental revenue and government loans.